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Jesus, the Holy Obedient One
Significant portions of Leviticus are devoted to what it means to live holy before God. To live holy is a description of a life well-lived with a God who is totally present and totally pure. The pinnacle of this way of living is described in Jesus’ summary of God’s instruction: love God with all of who we are and love our neighbor as ourselves (which is drawn from Leviticus 19:18). The problem is that we often fall short of this…
Jesus, the Perfect High Priest
Leviticus in many ways is an instruction book for the priests in how to maintain right relationship between God and God’s. There are instructions about how they should administer their priesthood and how they should be ordained. Jesus is not just a great teacher but, as the writer of Hebrews instructs, “has become a high priest forever” (Hebrews 6:20). Even now, Paul tells us, Jesus “is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us” (Romans 8:34).…
Jesus, the Perfect Offering
The first seven chapters of Leviticus describe five ritual offerings for God’s people: burnt offering, grain offering, peace offering, sin offering, and trespass offering. Each of these represent ways in which relationship with God is restored. However, these sacrifices must be repeated day after day. Jesus, however, is the perfect offering made once for all. As the writer of Hebrews says: “we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:10).…
Jesus, Holy God With Us
One of the central themes of Leviticus is the presence of God with God’s people. God is the One who delivered His people from enslavement in Egypt and now stands at the center of their identity and direction. God is with them. So, too, in Jesus, God is with us. In fact, one of Jesus’ most memorable titles is Emmanuel, which means “God with us.”. (Leviticus 1:1; Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23; 1 Corinthians 3:16) Sermon Outline “The LORD called to…
The Hidden Power of Patience and Prayer
James’ final exhortations call the believers to deeper patience in suffering and persevering prayer amidst sickness. Why might these be the final words he wants to offer to them? (James 5:7-20) Sermon Outline “Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise.” (James 5:13) Persevering with Patience (James 5:7-11) Patience with long-term perspective (5:7) Patience with the end in sight (5:8-9) Patience with good examples (5:10-11a) Patience with God’s character (5:11b)…
Making the Most of the Time
How we live each day reflects our sense of what matters most and how much time we have. In the churches that James is writing to, people’s lives were reflecting misplaced priorities and a false sense of security in the future. But James steps forward to correct them with hard truths and pointing them toward life. (James 4:13-5:6) Sermon Outline James 4:13-17 13 Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend…
Fighting the Right Enemy
The church is often known as a place where people fight with one another. But there is only one enemy worth fighting and that is the devil. And there is only one way to resist the devil successfully and that is by submitting to God. (James 4:1-12) Sermon Outline “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7) Dangers of being led by our desires (James 4:1-5) People of James desired a lot…
Living Well in God’s Wisdom
There are many forms of so-called wisdom out there, but not all of them help us live well. What does it look like to find God’s true wisdom and how does it shape our everyday living? (James 3:13-18) Sermon Outline “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.” (James 3:13) Let the Wise Step Forward (James 3:13a) Who is wise? Who thinks they’re…
Tame Your Tongue
James has already encouraged us to be quick to listen and slow to speak, but now he investigates more deeply the challenge of controlling our mouths and what we say. (James 3:1-12) Sermon Outline “Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.” (James 3:10) Teachers should Tame their Tongues (James 3:1-2) Leaders will be judged more strictly for what they say (James 3:1-2) Do not clamor to become a teacher. More…
Faith That Works
Today we explore one of the most well-known passages within James about how faith is shown by how we live in our actual lives. We are saved by grace, but our faith should be visible in our works. (James 2:14-26) Sermon Outline “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.” (James 2:26) Faith is… Active (James 2:14-17) Faith is… Not Just What We Claim (James 2:14-16) Not just claiming that “Jesus is Lord” Faith…
Faith That Doesn’t Play Favorites
The way we treat others, especially those who might be considered “lower” or “outcasts,” says a lot about our faith. As we mark MLK Day, it is a good time to consider whether our faith is healing our prejudices and shaping our love for others. (James 2:1-13) Sermon Outline “My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism.” (James 2:1) Faith That is Consistent with Jesus’ Way (James 2:1) Faith “in” Jesus that looks…
What We Hear, Say, and Do
James cautions believers to be good listeners and also to be slow to speak. There is a relationship between what we hear and receive in our lives, and how that translates into the way we speak and act. Sometimes our mouths can get ahead of us. (James 1:19-25) Sermon Outline “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry…” (James 1:19) Quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger (James 1:19-21) Human-ness and…